Both imports and exports show decreases of €331.2 million and €219.4 million respectively in the first four months of 2017, compared to the same period in 2016.

There was a considerable 45% decrease in imports of machinery and transport equipment by €539.6 million – while exports in this category remained fairly stable at around €300 million, according to figures released today by the National Statistics Office.

Imports were, however, boosted by an increase of €236.4 million in mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials.

On the exports side, the main decreases were registered in chemicals (€162.7 million) and mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials (€51.2 million).

During the first four months this year, the trade deficit narrowed by €111.8 million when compared to the corresponding period of 2016, reaching €1,046.6 million.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.